Veterans Service Representative

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current, permanent (career/career conditional) employees of the Decision Review Operations Center (DROC-DC), Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) and Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) eligible(s) only.

Specific duties include:

• Conduct interviews in person or by telephone with veterans, representatives, and advocates. Explains the full range of VA benefits and all related programs, including disability and death compensation and pension programs, education, vocational rehabilitation, and other related entitlements, small or disadvantaged business utilization, VA health care, home loan guaranty program, life insurance, general Social Security Administration benefit programs, federal and state laws relating to domestic relations, and federal, state, and local assistance programs.
• Makes determinations on questions relating to adequacy of military service, adequacy of medical evidence and lay testimony to establish a claim, and evaluates evidence of income, net worth, employability, dependency, and relationship. The VSR will fully analyze, develop, and request required evidence.
• Adjudicates, develops and/or issues decisions, and provides notification for the most complex and sensitive claims, such as claims for PTSD, sexual trauma, secondary service-connection, Gulf War claims, original and reopened pension claims, claims for unemployability, accrued claims, and apportionment cases.
• Serves as an Authorizer reviewing all required work of other VSRs when a second signature is required and is responsible for ensuring accurate funds are released to the claimant. Review and approves work for technical accuracy, clarity, thoroughness, and sensitivity of notification.
• Makes administrative decisions and special determinations relating to qualifying military service, character of discharge, domestic relations, contested claims, homicide, presumed death, line of duty, or willful misconduct, corpus of estate, and violations of U.S. Penal Code, related attorney fees, administrative error, and fraud.
• Prepares Statements of the Case on authorization appeals. Makes determinations on appeal cases as to whether reconsideration of the claim is necessary and assembles all necessary supplemental evidence and data in connection with review of appeal cases for submission to the Board of Veterans Appeals, as requested.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Not available, this is a remote position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative; GS-11 PD# 02105A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/12/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

• For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10 level.

The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
GS-11 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-10 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Experience is typically gained in positions that have involved experience in the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc. Experience is to be substantive and relevant and may have been gained in the practice of law or working with a Federal or state agency, insurance company, retirement disability, or insurance program. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to:

• Experience that demonstrates competence in adjudicating and authorizing veterans' claims.
• Experience in the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc.
• Comprehensive experience applying federal, state, and local laws regarding benefit programs.

OR

Education Substitution: GS-10 Level: One year of Specialized experience equivalent to the GS-10 level; or education substitution of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment:Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items such as papers or books. No special
physical demands are required to perform the work.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

• Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.
• Writing: Uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling to communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing.
• Oral Communication: Expresses ideas and facts to individuals or groups effectively; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others; facilitates an open exchange of ideas
• Teamwork: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.
• Self-Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.
• Technical competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below. Resumes may not exceed two pages and must be legible for review of eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in loss of consideration for this job announcement.

• Resume:
  • Contact Information:
    • Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number
  • Relevant Work Experience:
    • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include:
      • Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
      • Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 - 08/2022)
      • The number of hours you worked per week
    • Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications. Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement
  • Education/Certification/ Licensure:
    • When relevant or required for the position, include your possession of education/ certification/license and provide any required documentation such as transcripts, and/or details (type and date) of certifications and/or licenses
      • Education information should include:
        • Name of school/institution
        • Completion date
        • Degree type
        • Cumulative Grade point average (GPA)
  • Optional Details:
    • When relevant, include:
      • Current Security Clearance
      • Job-related training
      • Language skills
      • Organizations and affiliations
      • Professional publications
      • Eligibility for special programs (e.g., military spouses, individuals with disabilities, etc.)
• A copy of your most recent NON-award SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
• Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade To verify you meet Time-in-Grade requirements, also submit a SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade held (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.).
• Current VBA Employees seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade: you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position.
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
  NOTE: Award and General Adjustment SF-50's do not provide sufficient information will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time in grade. Recommended SF-50's include Within Grade Increases (WGI), Promotions and Appointments.

Additional Documents accepted:

• Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
• Award SF-50s
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

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